How to Crush Your Kickstarter Goals: A Case Study

Every marketing blog out there will tell you its “exclusive” tips for a successful Kickstarter campaign, but when your product is smarter and sexier than the competition, you want a strategy to match.

Our client Waylens is a prime example. The Boston-based company that makes an automotive camera system unlike any other, and has seen equally extraordinary results from its recent Kickstarter campaign. Within four hours of launch, Waylens raised more than double its 30-day goal. As of noon on launch day, Waylens raised more than $111,000.

Of course, having a brilliantly designed product is key, but it doesn’t hurt to have a team of marketing strategists behind you to lay out a plan well in advance of your Kickstarter launch. Here’s how we helped Waylens leave its goals in the dust.

A month before launch, we ran an email capture campaign designed to find Waylens’ key demographic and the creative that resonates best with its audience. We collected tens of thousands of leads, and were able to determine the most effective images and messaging to use for the rest of the Kickstarter campaign. Just prior to launch, Waylens sent a notification to its carefully cultivated email list and watched its pledge numbers skyrocket.

Why was this more effective than sending an email blast to friends, family, and followers? The leads we collected were of a much higher quality than those you might garner through networking because people who clicked on the email capture ads had intent to buy. They were carefully targeted according to their likelihood to purchase a high-quality automotive camera system, and the messaging in the ads clearly described the product’s unique value props, setting Waylens up for early Kickstarter success.